Head-To-Head Contrast: Swiss Re (OTCMKTS:SSREY) and Assurant (NYSE:AIZ)

Assurant (NYSE:AIZ) and Swiss Re (OTCMKTS:SSREY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and earnings.

Dividends

Assurant pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Swiss Re pays an annual dividend of $1.15 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Assurant pays out 23.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Assurant has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Assurant and Swiss Re’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Assurant	5.83%	16.47%	2.47%
Swiss Re	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Assurant and Swiss Re”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Assurant	$12.30 billion	0.90	$760.20 million	$13.81	15.87
Swiss Re	$45.60 billion	1.26	$3.24 billion	N/A	N/A

Swiss Re has higher revenue and earnings than Assurant.

Volatility and Risk

Assurant has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Swiss Re has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Assurant and Swiss Re, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Assurant	0	1	9	1	3.00
Swiss Re	2	3	1	2	2.38

Assurant currently has a consensus target price of $238.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.58%. Given Assurant’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Assurant is more favorable than Swiss Re.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.7% of Assurant shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Assurant shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Assurant beats Swiss Re on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Assurant

Assurant, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides business services that supports, protects, and connects consumer purchases in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments: Global Lifestyle and Global Housing. The Global Lifestyle segment offers mobile device solutions, and extended service contracts and related services for consumer electronics and appliances, and credit and other insurance products; and vehicle protection, commercial equipment, and other related services. The Global Housing segment provides lender-placed homeowners, manufactured housing, and flood insurance; renters insurance and related products; and voluntary manufactured housing, and condominium and homeowners insurance products. The company was formerly known as Fortis, Inc. and changed its name to Assurant, Inc. in February 2004. Assurant, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Swiss Re

Swiss Re AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides wholesale reinsurance, insurance, other insurance-based forms of risk transfer, and other insurance-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Property & Casualty Reinsurance, Life & Health Reinsurance, and Corporate Solutions. The Property & Casualty Reinsurance segment underwrites property reinsurance, including property, credit and surety, engineering, aviation, marine, agriculture, retakaful, and facultative reinsurance solutions; and casualty reinsurance, such as liability, motor, worker's compensation, personal accident, management and professional liability, cyber, and facultative reinsurance solutions. The Life & Health Reinsurance segment underwrites life and health insurance products. The Corporate Solutions segment offers standard risk transfer covers and multi-line programs to customized solutions. It serves stock and mutual insurance companies, public sector and governmental entities, mid-sized and large corporations, and individuals. The company was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.